York Schools Funds Fall Short

October 19, 1994|By AMY GARDNER Daily Press

York County schools will be looking to the Board of Supervisors more than ever next year to make up for declining state and federal dollars.

Superintendent Steven R. Staples is already dealing with a potential budget shortfall of up to $1.2 million this year because the division will get that much less from Washington and Richmond than he expected. The forecast for next year isn't much brighter, he said.

"Obviously, we're not going to be able to provide all the services that we define as quality without the revenue to do that," Staples told York's PTA Council last week.

"The only pot of money we have left is the locality," he added.

Because of the Board of Supervisors' recent switch to twice-yearly tax collection, both the school division and the county must start the next season of budget deliberations much earlier than in previous years.

The School Board normally passes its budget in March, and the supervisors decide on a tax rate in May. But this year, supervisors could do that as early as December, said Chairman Paul W. Garman.

The School Board will start talking about potential program cuts for the 1995-96 school year on Nov. 14, Staples said.

Several supervisors last week said they were sympathetic to the schools' plight.

"I think everybody on our board is committed to quality education," Garman said. "If all of our funds from outside sources were to dry up, I think most of the board would realize that we have to make a significant change - although we would not like to do it."

Jere M. Mills, a supervisor traditionally opposed to major increases in school spending, said Thursday that the board must make some extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of the schools this year.

"I think we've gotten the county's house in order, and if there's a time to start making up for the state and federal shortfall, this is a good time," Mills said.

The entire county budget - not just the schools' portion - will be difficult to balance in the coming year, said County Administrator Daniel M. Stuck. The county stands to lose about $200,000 from the state for constitutional officers, he said.

Also, the supervisors will consider several new programs, including a million-dollar storm water management plan, an overhaul of the county pay plan and a regional jail, he said. And they can't afford all of them.

The York County PTA Council last week agreed to launch a campaign, called "Quality - Bring it Back," to convince supervisors to provide more money for schools next year.

"We have to reach out to every person in the county and let them know how important education is," said Carolyn Felder, vice president of the council. "We cannot afford to go another year."

Felder said she hopes to lobby supervisors for a bigger appropriation next year, and she hopes to encourage as many of the 4,000 members of the division's 16 PTA units as she can to do the same.

Last year, the School Board asked supervisors for a $1.9 million increase - and they got $600,000. To bring their budget down to size, School Board members reduced activity bus runs, started charging students for parking and eliminated about 20 teaching positions.

This year's shortfall forced Staples to freeze an additional $1.4 million in the budget. Nine teaching and 17 teaching assistant vacancies aren't being filled; $200,000 budgeted for textbooks and $275,000 for instructional equipment isn't being spent.

According to Staples, the school system's enrollment estimates were too high, therefore, estimates of how much state aid the system would receive were too high. For the 1995-96 school year, Staples said, the division may see no increase in student population at all - for the first time in years.

While that will mean the division won't have to educate as many children as expected, it will still be difficult to do without the extra state funding, he said.

"When we had a problem with overcrowding, it was a good problem to have," he said. "It's always easier to figure out how you're going to spend the extra money than how you're going to reduce or eliminate the expenditures that you're not going to have."

A decline in federal impact aid, the money to educate military children, is responsible for the other half of this year's crunch. York County expects to lose about $650,000 in impact aid this year thanks to new formulas established last month. The school system may lose close to that amount again next year.

Staples said the enrollment projection for next year is primarily the result of renovations at Bethel Manor, the federal housing complex for Langley Air Force Base families. The renovations will keep dozens of units closed for the year, which in turn will lower enrollment by at least 300 students.

AT A GLANCE

* York schools are facing a potential budget shortfall of up to $1.2 million this year.

* The School Board will start talking about potential program cuts for the 1995-96 school year on Nov. 14.

* Last year, the School Board asked supervisors for a $1.9 million increase - and they got $600,000.